Marcum technologies LX-9 User Manual
LX-9
Digital Sonar Unit
www.marcumtech.com
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Introduction pg. 2
Getting Started pg. 3
Battery Charging pg. 4
To charge your battery pg. 4
Setting the Transducer pg. 5
Moving the Transducer pg. 5
Fishing in Shallow Water pg. 5 & 6
Reading through Ice pg. 6
Power pg. 6 Reading Lures and Jigs pg. 16
Sensitivity pg. 6 Dead Zone pg. 16
Range pg. 7 Configurations to Use pg. 16 & 17
Other LX-9 features pg. 13
Color Palettes pg. 13
Gauges pg. 13
Zoom pg. 13 &14
Cone Angle Info pg. 15
Digital Depth pg. 15
Reading Bottom pg. 15
Reading Fish pg. 16
Zoom pg. 8 Using the Manta Camera pg. 17, 18 & 19
Interference Rejection pg. 8 Ice Fishing Application pg. 19
Target Adjust pg. 8 Open Water Application pg. 20
Up/Down pg. 8 Software Updates pg. 20
Menu/Enter pg. 8 & 9 Charger Troubleshooting pg. 21
View Mode pg. 9 Two Year Warranty pg. 21
Display Options pg. 9 How to Obtain Service pg. 22
Play/Record pg. 9, 10, & 11 Contact Information pg. 22
Sonar Settings pg. 11 Accessories pg. 23
Systems Settings pg. 12
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LX-9 USER’S GUIDE
You talk, we listen. For years we have been getting requests of a combined sonar/video unit. Not two
displays stacked on each other, mind you, but all-encompassing unit that will locate, track, and
ultimately help you catch more fish.
The LX-9 is not for everyone. There are plenty of anglers out there that prefer the mobility of one of our
lean and mean sonars. Some people only fish in environments where an underwater viewing system is
the way to go. And believe it or not, there are even some anglers in a few remote corners of the ice belt
who fish with no electronics at all. But if you want the best, a combination of all features that anglers
have been asking for, you’ve found it.
Fishing with sonar requires the angler to use a bit of imagination to envision what is going on below.
Using the video features of the LX-9 alongside the sonar will give anglers a chance to really see what the
sonar signals represent, ultimately making you a better angler. The LX-9 features the cutting edge sonar
of the LX-7 fused with the living color imagery of our VS825sd underwater viewing system. And with its
built-in DVR, you will be able to preserve and share every minute of the action.
FEATURES
• 8” LCD Monitor—there isn’t a Fish-finder/Viewing System that is easier to see!
• Dual Beam Transducer—Quickly switch between 20 degree and 8 degree
• Rugged transport shuttle with extendable transducer arm
• Padded nylon soft pack offers the ultimate in protection
• Auxiliary clip-on camera soft pack
• Protective clear snow shield
• 12 volt 9 amp battery with automatic 3-stage charger
• 2 year warranty
• Adjustable zoom
• Dashboard Display keeps the angler updated with critical information
• Five different sonar windows to choose from, display up to three at once
Display Sonar signals on top of video for an unbelievable “Heads –Up” display
• Sony Super HAD II CCD underwater camera with 75’ of cable
• Built-in DVR recording system w/ SD card
• Camera Panner
• Transducer offset setting
Sun Shield
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GETTING STARTED
Sonar, Camera, or Both? That is the big question, and we hope that you utilize all that the LX-9 has to
offer. We strongly recommend that you put the LX-9 through its paces while at home, just to learn the
“flow” of the menu and the various functions. While one of the best features of the LX-9 is the ability to
display a sonar overlay on top of your video, or play video and sonar side by side, let’s start out by
learning how to use the sonar.
Anglers that are new to using digital sonars sometimes struggle with learning how to use it. A “fear” of
pressing buttons can really slow down the learning curve. When learning how to use your LX-9, press
away! You can’t hurt or break your system by pressing buttons, and if at any point you feel that you
want to start over, go to System Settings in your menu and select “Restore Factory “ to go back to the
screen configuration that came from the factory.
To get started, remove the LX-9 from the packaging, open the top cover of the soft pack by lifting up on
the Velcro closures on each side and front of the soft pack. Once opened, loosen the knobs on either
side of the gimbal bracket, and the monitor can now be positioned how you want it. Once the monitor is
positioned how you want it, tighten the knobs again to hold the monitor in place. The front panel of the
soft pack can be folded up and secured behind the monitor with the hook and loop fasteners.
Look behind the monitor and hook up the LX-9’s power cord to the battery. While you are at it, remove
the entire unit from the soft pack so you can see exactly how everything connects—this makes it easier
down the road if you ever need to change a battery, transducer, or camera. Your LX-9 is delivered with a
9 amp battery that is charged, so you can take it fishing right away. Even though the battery comes with
a charge on it, due to storage time or other factors it may not be fully charged when you get it, so if you
are not going fishing immediately you should hook up the charger to make sure the battery has a full
charge. To charge the battery, see below (pg. 3). The Marcum LX-9 will operate for 8 hours or more on a
fully charged battery. If you are going to be in a situation where you will want to use your system for
more than one day without recharging, having a second, fully charged battery with you is cheap
insurance that will allow you to get full use out of your system for the duration of your trip.
The LX-9 comes with a camera that is stored in the removable camera bag. The camera easily connects
to the monitor by plugging the camera cable into the camera adapter cable coming off the monitor. If
you are going to be in a situation where you will not be using the camera, you can easily detach the
camera and the camera bag from the main unit.
Be sure to explore all of the options available to customize your Dashboard Display. With five different
sonar portals, four color palettes, 2 cones angles, and a myriad of other settings, there are many
possibilities. It is easy to explore these options, and you can set the LX-9 so that it defaults to your
preferred arrangement. Changing your settings is easily done on the fly, but experimenting while using
the simulator at home will help you learn the “flow” of the menu and settings.
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BATTERY CHARGING
Your Marcum system comes with a 3-stage battery charger. This style of charger has proven to be the
most effective and easiest to use of all charging systems available. Because this is a 3-stage charger,
there is no danger of overcharging your battery. When properly cared for, a sealed lead acid battery will
last for at least a couple of years. Batteries are made to be used, and they need to be used to make the
most of them. The most important thing you can do is to promptly recharge your battery after each use.
Not charging your battery immediately after use is the number one thing that leads to battery failure.
For safety reasons, it is recommended that you place your system on a flat, hard surface like cement or
tile when charging it, away from any flammable materials. Be sure to disconnect the charger from the
wall when not in use, and avoid leaving your battery hooked up to the charger for extended periods of
time.
When you get home from a trip, put your battery on charge right away and leave it there overnight, or
for around 8-12 hours. Likewise, on the night before an ice fishing trip put it on the charger again, just to
make sure. Again, there is no danger of overcharging your battery. We often talk to people who hesitate
to charge their battery after each use for fear that the battery will develop a “memory” and this will lead
to a shortened run time—THIS IS FALSE!!! ALWAYS CHARGE YOUR BATTERY AFTER EVERY USE!!! Be sure
to use the charger that came with your system, or a similar one that is between .5 amp. and 1 amp.
Using a larger charger, like you would use on a car, truck, RV, or boat is likely to cause damage to the
battery. There is really no danger of overcharging your battery with a low amp charger, and most
chargers automatically go into “maintenance mode” once a full charge has been achieved.
TO CHARGE YOUR BATTERY:
Your battery has a wiring harness attached to it that has “piggyback” terminals on it, enabling you to
keep the power cord from the unit attached to the battery at all times, as well as having the wiring
harness with receptacle for your charger attached at all times. To charge, simply couple the end of the
charger with the end of the wiring harness. It is normal for a green light to appear on the charger at this
time if the charger is plugged into the battery only. It is also normal for the light on the charger to be
green if it is just plugged into the wall. When it is plugged into the wall and battery, you will see a red
LED light appear on the charger. If the light is red, the battery is being charged. When your battery is
fully charged, this red light should change to green. If it is time to go fishing and the light has not turned
green, go fish and try to allow a longer charging period next time.
Batteries are an expendable item, and must be replaced periodically. The batteries that we use are the
“Sealed Lead Acid” variety, they are 12 volts, and range from 7 to 9 amps. The more amps the battery
has, the longer it will run on a full charge. Your Marcum can be powered off of any battery that is 12
volts, even a large automotive or deep cycle battery.
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If you are having difficulty with the charging process, please see the Charger Troubleshooting section at
end of the manual (pg. 20). Also, you can watch a video tutorial on charging your battery by following
the below link.
http://helpdesk.marcumtech.com/MarCum/Knowledgebase/Article/View/72/6/redgreen-light-on-yourcharger
If you need to remove the battery, slide the power cord leads from the battery. Remove the strap that is
holding the battery in place and lift the battery out. To replace the battery, place a new battery of
similar specifications into the battery compartment and secure it with the Velcro strap and re-connect
the positive and negative terminals.
SETTING THE TRANSDUCER FOR ICE FISHING
When used in conjunction with the retractable pivoting transducer arm and rubber stopper, the LX-9’s
transducer will automatically level itself in your ice hole. To begin operation, take the transducer out of
the recessed holder, and rotate the adjustable ice arm out from inside the shuttle. Extend the
transducer arm, (the cable should already be threaded through it with stopper in place) and deploy the
transducer into the water. We recommend setting your stopper to have the transducer down the least
amount possible. The LX-9 puts out enough power that in most cases it is not necessary to have your
transducer down more than a few inches below the water line to get a good reading. When the ice
thickness is over two feet, it may be necessary to have your transducer set somewhat farther down.
Remember--the less transducer cable you have out, the easier it is to pull it out of the water when
bringing in a fish, or to move to a new location. Under no circumstances should you ever have the ducer
below the ice—this can lead to the ducer becoming damaged.
It is also important that you keep the cable near the center of the ice hole. We frequently hear from
anglers who allowed their cable to freeze into the side of the ice hole. If this should happen to you,
make sure the unit is turned off before attempting to chisel it out. If you accidentally cut the ducer
cable, do not try to use that ducer again.
MOVING THE DUCER TO A NEW LOCATION
Being mobile is one of the keys to being successful on the ice. Whenever you move from one spot to
another, it is tempting to leave your transducer hanging on the transducer arm. This is likely to lead to
failure of the transducer arm, and can cause damage to the transducer itself. Always stow the
transducer inside the pack when you are moving. Keeping the amount of transducer cord you have out
at a minimum will make transporting your Digital Sonar easier. Similarly, you may need to quickly
remove your transducer from the hole when about to land a fish. We have actually seen anglers in a
panic actually grab the shuttle itself and toss the entire unit to the side. This is no way to treat any piece
of electronics; a much better approach is to simply lift the transducer out of your way by the cord, and
the shuttle itself can be gently pushed aside. Whenever you are moving via sled or vehicle, always fold
up your transducer arm, stow the transducer inside, and close the protective soft pack.
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FISHING IN SHALLOW WATER
The LX-9 is designed to be an effective fishing tool in a wide variety of environments. Most of the time,
simply turning on the unit at factory default settings is all that is necessary. Shallow water [10 feet or
less] can be problematic without making a few adjustments. If you are having trouble getting optimal
performance out of your Digital Sonar in shallow water, here are some adjustments to experiment with.
Depending on the actual circumstances, one or more of these adjustments may be necessary. First
thing, when in shallow water, keep your transducer near the surface of the water [at the TOP of the ice,
almost in the air] no matter how thick the ice is. This gives the ducer a little more room to “work”. Be
sure that you manually select the 10 foot range. Next, press the MENU button, select SONAR SETTINGS,
and then scroll to SONAR MODE. Highlight it and select OPEN WATER MODE. We realize it does not
seem natural to use “OPEN WATER MODE” when you are on the ice, but making this change will “back
off” the gain curve, allowing better performance in certain ice fishing conditions. Also, try lowering the
MAX PING RATE to 1. Finally, you should also consider changing the color palette from the default “SIX-
COLOR” to one of the three-color palettes.
READING THROUGH ICE
The Marcum LX-9 will provide accurate information reading through ice providing the ice is reasonably
clear. Wet the ice with at least a cup of water to improve the coupling of the transducer to the ice. Place
the face of the transducer firmly on the wetted ice, and you will now be able to see the depth displayed
digitally, and a signal showing the bottom (and fish) on whichever sonar windows you have open.
Drilling into the ice 1-2” before taking a reading may be necessary if the surface of the ice is very rough,
or if the ice is filled with air bubbles.
OPERATION
The LX-9 has many functions and settings that are selected or changed by buttons on the Control Panel.
Learning what each of the buttons (POWER, SENS, RANGE, ZOOM, IR, CONE ANGLE, TARGET ADJUST,
MENU/ENTER, UP, DOWN) does will enable you to get the most out of your LX-9. Note that you can
experiment with different settings and dashboard arrangements in SIMULATOR mode. Many of the
selections will activate just by highlighting your desired setting.
CONTROL PANEL
The following is an explanation of each button on the control panel and what it does. Some of the
button functions can also be accessed in the main menu. Pressing any of the Control Panel buttons will
cause a window to open, enabling the user to make the desired adjustments. All button function
windows will time out after about 6 seconds. Any changes made to the settings will activate when the
MENU button is pressed, or after a few seconds without activity.
You may experiment with settings by getting your Digital Sonar to get a bottom reading off the floor in
your house or garage. It must be a bare tile or cement floor. Position your Digital Sonar with the
transducer hanging motionless about 2 feet above the tile or cement floor and then turn the sensitivity
up to the maximum [25] setting. If the ducer is 2 feet above the floor, you should get a bottom reading
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at about 8.5 feet [the unit is calibrated to be accurate in water, not air!]. If you now raise and lower the
ducer, the bottom signal should move in a corresponding manner. You may find it is easier to learn the
zoom and other functions while experimenting in this way with the “manual simulator”.
POWER — Press and hold this button for about 2 seconds to turn your unit on or off. When you first
turn the unit on, it may take 30 seconds or slightly more for the screen to fully illuminate.
SENS — The SENS (sensitivity) button controls the amount of sensitivity required by the unit to pick up
objects like bottom, weeds, fish, smaller bait-fish, or small lures and jigs. The lower the number, the less
sensitivity, conversely higher numbers mean more sensitivity. To adjust your sensitivity, first press the
SENS button and a bar will appear at the bottom of your display. Pressing the UP/DOWN will adjust your
sensitivity, and the sensitivity setting will now be digitally displayed on the SENS gauge. The best SENS
setting is achieved by turning up your sensitivity from 0 until you receive a clear and steady bottom
reading. To see your lure or bait, turn up the SENS some more until you just begin to display your bait
without it fading or flickering on the screen. The sensitivity will go up to 25, but a setting between 5 and
10 is likely to be where you want it set in most instances. Too much sensitivity will only display with
unnecessary information, showing clutter and making it more difficult to interpret the return signals.
Clutter can be caused by any number of suspended items, including algae, zooplankton, tiny bubbles,
and other particles.
RANGE— The LX-9 is equipped with 4 range options--“Auto ”, “Manual ”, “Dynamic ”, and “Manual
Dynamic”. Regardless of the depth range setting, your LX-9 will always display digital depth, even if the
bottom is deeper than the bottom limit of the RANGE setting (down to 300’).
You should familiarize yourself with how the different range settings work. If you ever experience
jumpiness or erratic behavior on your display, it could be caused by environmental conditions like
irregularities on the bottom, weeds, steep drop offs, big schools of fish, etc. causing the Auto Range
function difficulty in discerning what the actual depth is. If you encounter this, change into one of the
manual range selections.
AUTO RANGE — the Auto Range feature allows you to simply turn on the unit and
begin fishing. To enter Auto Range, press RANGE. Now use the UP button to highlight
“Auto”. Now press MENU, and the LX-9 will automatically lock into the appropriate
depth range. For instance, in 32 feet of water, the LX-9 will lock into the 40 foot range.
In 45 feet of water the LX-9 will automatically lock into the 60 foot range.
MANUAL RANGE—there are 9 manually adjustable depth ranges—10, 20, 40, 60, 80,
120, 180, 240 and 300-feet. If you manually select a range, select a range that is deeper
than the actual depth and when in doubt, error on the “deep” side. To manually adjust
the LX-9’s depth range, press RANGE, and then select MANUAL. This will open a window
with 9 range options. Your selected range will lock in as soon as the selected range has
been highlighted.
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